How can I trust my feelings when I spent so long with a guy who was very wrong for me? I had no idea my best friend would bury a knife to the hilt in my back.
“Thea jumped in for me,” he says. “Claimed she was ready to punch the snotty bride and that she put herself through college bartending. Avery’s distracting your mom from going after you. I told them I had to grab some supplies from the bar in here.”
Good. Everything is taken care of. My family and Durban have my back. “I was so tempted to quit on the spot. She purposely insulted me, and that’s what hurts the most.” I squeeze my eyes shut and suck in his caramel-and-oak scent. My hormones are programmed to relax around him. Tension melts out of my body to the point where I’m just tired. “I’ve taken so much shit from employers that I didn’t deserve, but standing up for myself cost me every time.” I fold my arms and lean my butt against the table. He’s between me and the doorway, like he’s buffering me from the world.
“You can quit.” He brushes the backs of his fingers down my cheeks, and I soak up every millimeter of his touch. “You can tell her and Stanford to go to hell, and we’ll support you. Your dad will support you. The town will support you.”
I blow out a heavy breath, but turn my face into his hand. “I’m so close to the end. I can’t let her ruin this for me. This is the only way to cut my uncle out of all our lives. If I wreck his daughter’s wedding, he’ll never let the land go.” I inhale a lungful of air, steeling myself to go out and face the crowd. “I’m going to finish this. I’m going to help this ranch. I’m not going to be the drain on this family.”
He’s even closer now. “You’re too damn good for this wedding. Your whole family is.” He pauses and screws his face up. “Your immediate family.”
Our bodies are lined up. I slide my hands around his shoulders. “I feel better now. Because of you.”
“I didn’t do anything.”
“You made me feel less alone.” I know my sisters and Mom are out there. Jamison, Avery, and Thea will throw down with almost no notice, and Jamison would do the same and calmly go nurse Tavis afterward. But I can’t have that. I can’t be the cause of more drama.
“I’m here for you. All weekend.”
And after? I’m afraid to ask. Two more days. That’s all. Three, if I wait for Sunday to see if Durban is still interested in me.
What if he wants to be done with me? Or keeps me at a distance and keeps what’s between us to just sex?
Preemptive hurt rises up like smoke. Would I go along with it just to get more of him? Put up with thebare minimum when I know I want more? I’ve been down that road.
The wedding hasn’t even happened yet, and Durban’s here with me now.
I want to push my hands through his dark locks, but he’s combed his hair nicely. If he’d worn his cowboy hat instead, he would’ve stolen all the attention from the groom.
It’s why I suggested he doesn’t wear it when he’s working. A wedding planner has her pride.
He places his mouth on mine for a slow, searching kiss. I take it further, licking across the seam of his lips. It’s like I flip a switch. He clamps me harder against him and opens for me, tangling his tongue with mine in a slow, sensual dance.
The ridge of his erection presses into my belly. I don’t have much room between him and the table, but I claw at the waistband of his jeans. I need him to hold up his end of our agreement now. I need him to drain this stress from me, to squash these hopeless and hopeful thoughts playing tug-of-war in my head.
He breaks the kiss like it’s the last thing he wants to do. “Are you sure?” He’s got his hands on my waist, stroking my sides with his thumbs.
I’m one hundred percent certain I want him. Beyond tonight, but for now? Yes. “Can you be quick?”
He scoops up the hem of my dress and drags my underwear off. I step out of them, but I wouldn’t have cared if he ripped them off.
“Hold this,” he says about the fabric of my skirt. He shoves my panties in his pocket and finishes freeing himself. Then he hitches me on top of the table andskims his hand over my thigh, sweeping up to my pussy. Pleasure ripples from every point he touches.
“I need to get you ready,” he says roughly in my ear.
“I’m ready. Just fuck me.”
He lets out a combination of a growl and a grunt and thrusts inside. Suddenly full, that pressure I wanted him to drain is gone, replaced by him and increasing satisfaction. I smother a cry against his shoulder but immediately grind against him. I need more, and I need it fast.
He pumps into me, long and slow at first, until I grab his ass and urge him to go faster. And faster he goes. “Do you need it hard, Belle?”
“God, yes.” I widen my legs. The edges of his fly cut into my thighs, but I relish the bite of pain. With each shove in, he rubs against my clit, and I edge closer to the top of my peak. Almost there. “Harder.”
The cords of his neck strain as he hinges his hips back and forth. “Hold on tight.”
I release his butt and grip the edge of the table. He slams into me. Withdraws. Rams in again. Over and over until he’s grunting with each breath.
My mind is blissfully empty. I can think of nothing but hanging on. I careen through my crest, coming harder than I thought possible. My body clamps on to him so tightly, I don’t know how he keeps moving. I clamp my legs harder around him.
